There are vehicles & people around the bridge during 1st shift hours, but it isn't clear when they will transition from getting ready to actually working on the bridge & its piers. A narrow path along the river side of the tracks west of the storage yard has been paved with asphalt. Hard to tell whether it's connected with the bridge project.

Operationally, the single track has increased congestion in the Hall - Plaistow and Frost - Frye double track segments. Trains departing Bradford WB on the westerly track run more or less at track speed to Lawrence. I've observed a practice of leaving Bradford as soon as all the passengers from the bus are boarded, in one case leaving a group of 5 making their way from their cars. Not clear why, as the trains then sit 5-10 minutes at Lawrence waiting for departure time. Eastbound trains terminating at Bradford still run at Restricted speed from Frost, with a stop at each intermediate signal.

Aside from a flagman in a pickup truck who seems to be working more or less 8-4, I rarely saw anyone around the construction yard in Bradford during September. The westerly track remains bridge-timber-less from the through truss span to Washington St.

So this thread "went quiet" pretty early in the fall, which might have been OK, but now from Amtrak Downeaster Thread comes the complaint that they're not in any hurry to resume construction. Any news?

swist wrote:I take [Amtrak] 681/682 all the time. The trains used to pass each other between Lawrence and Haverhill. They can no longer do that because the Merrimack river bridge has only one track. So it is impossible for both of these trains to be on time, even if all the other problems were resolved. My question is why does it appear that that bridge work is not in any hurry. I can understand in the dead of Winter, but they knocked off early in the Fall, and have still not restarted.

"Trying to solve congestion by making roadways wider is like trying to solve obesity by buying bigger pants."--Charles Marohn

I cross that bridge twice a week and today I saw ONE worker doing something out in the center of the span. But I saw no other activity, although with the MBTA doing tie replacement work there is always a certain amount of men and materials hanging about, although there is no evidence they have anything to do with the bridge.

I looked over the bridge from the Haverhill end earlier in June - rail & ties are now completely gone from the westerly side. Equipment and machines were present in the construction yard on the Bradford side. No activity, but it was late enough in the day that I didn't really expect any.